Where to Buy Chains & How Heavy?

I am somewhat new to using chains in my workouts and thought I’d ask for some advice. I’m not a powerlifter (at least not yet) and gear most of my workouts toward sport performance. That said, most of the exercises I do aren’t that different from a powerlifters (I do lots of squats, pulls, glute ham, reverse hyyper etc).

At the moment my squat is around 350 lbs (havent tested this month so hopefully higher) and my bench has gone up to 280. I was wondering if anyone good give me a starting point as far as training with chains… how heavy/long should they be? Is there a place to buy them that won’t cost me an arm and a leg?

The easiest (and probably cheapest) way to get chains is to buy them at a hardware store. Most Lowe’s and Home Depot’s don’t carry anything larger than 3/8" but you can get 5/8" chain at a store like Fastenall. You can also order them from Westside or EliteFTS, but you will have to deal with shipping costs. Either use 3/8" chain for feeder loops or get EZ loaders from Spud, Inc. These make loading and unloading chain much easier, especially when you have mutliple lifters using different numbers of chain using the same bar. You probably will not need more than 2-3 pairs of 5/8" chain at your current strength levels.

Ez Loader:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=114&pid=2948

Chain and band guide:
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/top_3_squat_bench.htm

Start calling around equipment suppliers, rigging companies, etc. They’ll point you in the right direction. Chain made for hoisting is made in the US and expensive. 5/8" chain will run you $13+/ft. If you call around you’ll find stuff that was made in China or is surplus. It’ll be half the price of less.

Thanks for the replies. The link at elitefts was what I was looking for.

Looks like I have some phone calls about getting my hands on some chains.

Talk to some farmers and see if they have any old tractor snow chains they’re not using, you might get lucky.

[quote]Matsa wrote:
Talk to some farmers and see if they have any old tractor snow chains they’re not using, you might get lucky.[/quote]

That thought actually crossed my mind.

I’d say go check with a place that sells nautical equipment. I payed barely $1.50/ft when i bought 5/8.

i bought mine online here: Chains - Chain by Type - Weightlifting Chain - 1st Chain Supply

free shipping, which is nice on items as heavy as these.